Scottish Landlord Obligations 2026: What the Housing (Scotland) Act 2025 Changes

The Housing (Scotland) Act 2025: Staged Commencement

The Housing (Scotland) Act 2025 received Royal Assent in November 2025. Rather than switching everything on at once, the Scottish Government is phasing in the changes across four appointed days. For private landlords, the key dates are 1 April 2026, 6 October 2026, and 1 April 2027.

The Act doesn't rewrite the core landlord registration framework under Part 8 of the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004 — you still register through the same portal, pay the same nationally-set fees, and renew every three years. But it changes the enforcement landscape around the safety declarations you make, increases the financial risk of getting eviction procedure wrong, and introduces new rules on rent adjudication that every registered landlord needs to understand.

Phase 1: 1 April 2026

The first wave gave councils new information-gathering powers and introduced the rent-control assessment framework. Those powers support local authorities' rent-control assessment work; they do not change the core landlord registration process.

For most landlords, this doesn't change day-to-day operations. Registration officers may still conduct sample audits of safety declarations and request evidence of compliance before approving an application.

Phase 2: 1 August 2026

Social landlord domestic abuse protection powers commenced. This phase primarily affects housing associations and council housing, not private landlords directly.

Phase 3: 6 October 2026 — The Big One for Private Landlords

Three significant changes took effect on 6 October 2026:

Awaab's Law (damp and mould timescales). The Investigation and Commencement of Repair (Scotland) Regulations 2026 (SSI 2026/173), made under the Housing (Scotland) Acts 2001 and 2006, require landlords to investigate reports within 10 working days, give tenants a written summary within 3 working days after the investigation concludes, and begin required repairs within 5 working days after the investigation concludes if substantial damp or mould is identified. These duties apply to private tenancies covered by the Repairing Standard as well as social housing, with provisions for circumstances beyond a landlord's control. The Housing and Property Chamber can enforce compliance, and failure feeds into the fit-and-proper assessment at registration renewal. We've covered this in detail in our post on damp, mould, lead pipes and Awaab's Law.

Wrongful Termination Orders increased. If the Tribunal finds that a landlord misled the tenant or Tribunal into ending a tenancy, the landlord may have to pay compensation. From 6 October 2026, the award is calculated at up to 36 times the relevant monthly sum, which is one month's rent or £840 if that is higher; the Tribunal may award less than three times that sum in appropriate circumstances. Before 6 October 2026, the maximum award was six months' rent.

Tenancy succession residency requirement reduced from 12 to 6 months. When a tenant dies, a qualifying person (spouse, civil partner, co-habitant, or family member) can now succeed to the tenancy if they've lived in the property for at least 6 months, down from the previous 12-month threshold.

What's Coming: 1 April 2027

Two further changes are published and dated:

Rent adjudication cap. When a tenant refers a rent increase to Rent Service Scotland, the rent officer (and on appeal, the First-tier Tribunal) will no longer be able to set the rent higher than the landlord's original notice amount. Under the current rules, it's theoretically possible for the adjudicated rent to exceed what the landlord asked for. From April 2027, the landlord's requested increase becomes the ceiling.

Extended tenant referral window. Tenants will have 30 days (up from 21) to refer a rent increase to Rent Service Scotland after receiving the landlord's notice. Landlords setting rent increases should build this longer window into their timeline planning.

Joint tenant termination provisions. Full joint tenant termination rules take effect, clarifying how one joint tenant can end a Private Residential Tenancy without requiring the agreement of all joint tenants.

How This Affects Your Registration

The 2025 Act doesn't add new fields to the registration portal or change the fee structure. But it widens the consequences of the obligations you declare when you register:

• The Awaab's Law timescales make the damp/mould element of your safety declarations actionable in a way it wasn't before
• The wrongful termination increase makes it more important than ever to understand which eviction grounds apply to your situation before serving notice
• The enhanced information-gathering powers give councils more authority to audit your compliance during a registration term, not just at application

If you're a registered landlord approaching renewal, or a new landlord applying for the first time, understanding these changes isn't optional. The Scotland Landlord Registration Guide covers the entire registration process dated to the rules as at October 2026, including the Housing (Scotland) Act 2025 changes and what's already confirmed for 2027.

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